March 11, 2021

First shrimp broodstock for new aquaculture facility arrives in Oman

The first batch of shrimp broodstock for a new aquaculture facility in Oman has arrived in the first week of March.

The shrimp were delivered to the aquatic veterinary quarantine facility in Al-Misfat industrial area, Bausher, and will be sent to the Oceanic Shrimp Company (OSC), a subsidiary of Fisheries Development Oman (FDO).

The shrimp will be monitored for a period of up to 35 days to ensure that they are free from any potential pathogens before they can be transferred to designated farms on the Arabian Sea.

The Oman Daily Observer reported that OSA is currently in the process of completing several shrimp farms in the wilayats of Jaalan Bani Bu Hassan and Jaalan Bani Bu Ali, the Governorate of South Al Sharqiyah and a Quroon project in Jaalan Bani Bu Hassan which is in its final stage and expected to begin operations by next month.

These projects are part of FDO's planned investments in the aquaculture sector, which sought to diversify Oman's economy and provide job opportunities.

It was hoped that the move would speed up plans for the Barr Al Hikman shrimp farm, an 8,000 hectare project that would be the second largest of its kind in the Middle East and North African region, with an annual production capacity of 43,000 tonnes of Indian white shrimp (Fenneropenaeus indicus).

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Oman produced only 451 tonnes of farmed fish and shellfish in 2018, mostly shrimp and tilapia.

Currently, the sultanate is targeting an annual aquaculture output of 200,000 tonnes by 2040.

 - The Fish Site